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A car phone is a mobile radio telephone specifically designed for and fitted into an automobile. This service originated with the Bell System and was first used in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 17, 1946.
The original equipment weighed 80 pounds (36 kg), and there were initially only three channels for all the users in the metropolitan area (other sources [1] claim six channels).
On October 2, 1946, Motorola communications equipment carried the first calls on Illinois Bell Telephone Company's new car radiotelephone service in Chicago. [2] [3] Due to the small number of radio frequencies available, the service quickly reached capacity.
In 1964 AT&T introduced the Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS). More licenses were added, bringing the total to 32 channels across three bands (See IMTS frequencies). This service was used at least into the 1980s in large portions of North America. [4]
In 1968, almost 22 years after the initial network, the US government started to consider reserving spectrum for land mobile radio communication, to be used by private persons. The FCC initiated proceedings which resulted in the reservation of 75 MHz of spectrum in 1970. During the 1970s the FCC changed its mind a few times, such as in 1974 when it reduced the spectrum to 40 MHz.
On May 4th, 1981 the FCC released the rules for providing commercial cellular service. Over the next few years the FCC received hundreds of applications for 90 markets. The first cellular system went live on October the 13th 1983 in the Chicago market.
In Finland, car phone service was first available in 1971 on the zero generation ARP (Autoradiopuhelin, or Car Radiophone) service. This was succeeded in 1982 by the 1G system NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephone), used across Scandinavia and in other often remote areas.
Sweden started relatively early with plans for mobile telephony service trials at the end of the 1940s. At the end of the 1950s, a trial system was built, using two channels, providing service for five mobile stations. In 1956, two commercial systems were brought online, each equipped with four channels. There were 125 subscribers by the end of the 1960s, when the network was shut down.
Meanwhile, other mobile networks were built in the 1960s and later on, and plans were made for future networks, cumulating in the cooperation for the NMT system.
In West Germany, the car phone service was first released in 1958 as the A-Netz service (Netz being German for network). In 1971, it reached its capacity limit of almost 11,000 subscribers and was succeeded by the B-Netz in 1972, which featured direct dialing rather than a human operator to connect calls. However, in order to reach a subscriber, one would still need to know their location since the handset would assume the local area code of the base station serving it. It was succeeded in 1985 by the C-Netz 1G system.
The C-Netz was replaced by the D-Netz, a 2G GSM system, starting in 1992. With two licensees, one building and operating the D1-Netz, the other one building and operating the D2-Netz. Both on the 900 MHz band. The D-Netz was later complemented, not replaced, by the E-Netz. Again two licenses were granted for an E1-Netz and an E2-Netz, and the technology was called DCS 1800 - a GSM variant for the 1800 MHz band. These D-Netz and E-Netz networks were where the main shift from car phones towards mobile (handheld) phones occurred.
East Germany did develop an analog radio phone network. It was called URTES-Netz (UHF-Radio-Telefonie-System network). [5] But the network was never used in East Germany (with one notable exception) due to fear by the Stasi of not having control over the communication.
In 1979 Mexico was looking for a radio phone network and awarded East Germany with the contract. Over a period of 17 month the system was then developed in East Germany from scratch and the equipment produced in East Germany. It was installed in 1981 in Mexico with a maximum capacity of 120 stations. The stations were given the type designation UDS 721 U. The call signs used during testing were Blaumeise (blue tit) followed by a number. A station weighted approximately 10 kg.
Typically the stations were installed at fixed locations in rural areas. However, one station was reportedly installed by request of the governor of Guerrero, Alejandro Cervantes Delgado in his car, making it the first, and possible only car phone in the network. A prototype of that telephone was briefly shown in a TV report about the development of the URTES network. [6]
Later on additional URTES networks were built in Mexico and other countries, in total half a dozen or so.
There was a significant lack of fixed network telephone capacity in East Germany after the East German state collapsed. One attempt to bridge the gap was to use an URTES network in East Germany, making it the only live deployment of such a network where it was originally developed. However, the West German analog C-Netz was quickly extended to East Germany. The digital 2G D-Netz was also built in East Germany from 1992 onward. For a period of time C-Netz and later D-Netz car phones and lug-gable phones were a staple of business persons in East Germany.
The UK started its TACS system in 1985. TACS was a modified version of the US AMPS system. TACS was replaced by GSM in the 1990s.
In North America, car phones typically used the Mobile Telephone Service (MTS), which was first used in St. Louis, or Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS) before giving way to analog cellular service (AMPS) in 1984. AMPS technology was discontinued in the United States in 2008. [7]
Since a traditional car phone uses a high-power transmitter and external antenna, it is ideal for rural or undeveloped areas where mobile handsets may not work well or at all. However, due to current US Federal Communications Commission regulations, carriers must pay penalties for activating any equipment that is not an E911 compliant device, such as analog.[ citation needed ]
In the 1980s, the car phone was more popular than the mobile phone. However, as mobile phones became lighter and more affordable during the mobile phone boom in the 1990s, car phones became less common. By the 2000s, car phones had become uncommon due to the convenience of mobile phones along with in-car mobile phone integrative technologies such as Bluetooth.
There were still some car phones available as recently as 2008, including the Nokia 810 and the Motorola VC6096 for use with GSM networks and a car phone made by NAL Research for the Iridium satellite network. Motorola provided US customers with the m800 and m900 car phones, for use with CDMA and GSM networks respectively. Some car phones had colour screens and supported high-speed data connections as well as the ability to access SIM cards stored in other phones via Bluetooth.
Since 2008, many automobiles have featured integrated, "hands-free" systems to utilize a consumer's mobile phone, via a Bluetooth wireless link or use an integrated transceiver. The systems use an internally mounted microphone, and the car's audio system, and may feature voice activation and control. [8] [9]
Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) was an analog mobile phone system standard originally developed by Bell Labs and later modified in a cooperative effort between Bell Labs and Motorola. It was officially introduced in the Americas on October 13, 1983, and was deployed in many other countries too, including Israel in 1986, Australia in 1987, Singapore in 1988, and Pakistan in 1990. It was the primary analog mobile phone system in North America through the 1980s and into the 2000s. As of February 18, 2008, carriers in the United States were no longer required to support AMPS and companies such as AT&T and Verizon Communications have discontinued this service permanently. AMPS was discontinued in Australia in September 2000, in India by October 2004, in Israel by January 2010, and Brazil by 2010.
A personal communications service (PCS) is set of communications capabilities that provide a combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management. This class of services comprises several types of wireless voice or wireless data communications systems, typically incorporating digital technology, providing services similar to advanced cellular mobile or paging services. In addition, PCS can also be used to provide other wireless communications services, including services that allow people to place and receive communications while away from their home or office, as well as wireless communications to homes, office buildings and other fixed locations. Described in more commercial terms, PCS is a generation of wireless cellular-phone technology, that combines a range of features and services surpassing those available in analogue- and first-generation (2G) digital-cellular phone systems, providing a user with an all-in-one wireless phone, paging, messaging, and data service.
Total Access Communication System (TACS) and ETACS are variants of Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) which were announced as the choice for the first two UK national cellular systems in February 1983, less than a year after the UK government announced the T&Cs for the two competing mobile phone networks in June 1982. This 1G technology is now obsolete.
The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a 3G mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP, UMTS is a component of the International Telecommunication Union IMT-2000 standard set and compares with the CDMA2000 standard set for networks based on the competing cdmaOne technology. UMTS uses wideband code-division multiple access (W-CDMA) radio access technology to offer greater spectral efficiency and bandwidth to mobile network operators.
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter. Radio waves with frequencies above the UHF band fall into the super-high frequency (SHF) or microwave frequency range. Lower frequency signals fall into the VHF or lower bands. UHF radio waves propagate mainly by line of sight; they are blocked by hills and large buildings although the transmission through building walls is strong enough for indoor reception. They are used for television broadcasting, cell phones, satellite communication including GPS, personal radio services including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, walkie-talkies, cordless phones, satellite phones, and numerous other applications.
IS-54 and IS-136 are second-generation (2G) mobile phone systems, known as Digital AMPS (D-AMPS), and most often referred to as TDMA, are a further development of the North American 1G mobile system Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS). It was once prevalent throughout the Americas, particularly in the United States and Canada since the first commercial network was deployed in 1993. D-AMPS is considered end-of-life, and existing networks have mostly been replaced by GSM/GPRS or CDMA2000 technologies.
A cellular network or mobile network is a telecommunications network where the link to and from end nodes is wireless and the network is distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver. These base stations provide the cell with the network coverage which can be used for transmission of voice, data, and other types of content via radio waves. Each cell's coverage area is determined by factors such as the power of the transceiver, the terrain, and the frequency band being used. A cell typically uses a different set of frequencies from neighboring cells, to avoid interference and provide guaranteed service quality within each cell.
A cordless telephone or portable telephone has a portable telephone handset that connects by radio to a base station connected to the public telephone network. The operational range is limited, usually to the same building or within some short distance from the base station.
The Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS) was a pre-cellular VHF/UHF radio system which linked to the public telephone network. IMTS was the radiotelephone equivalent of land dial phone service. Introduced in 1964, it replaced Mobile Telephone Service (MTS) and improved on most MTS systems by offering direct-dial rather than connections through a live operator, and full-duplex operation so both parties could talk at the same time.
Mobile telephony is the provision of wireless telephone services to mobile phones, distinguishing it from fixed-location telephony provided via landline phones. Traditionally, telephony specifically refers to voice communication, though the distinction has become less clear with the integration of additional features such as text messaging and data services.
1G refers to the first generation of mobile telecommunications standards, introduced in the 1980s. This generation was characterized by the use of analog audio transmissions, a major distinction from the subsequent 2G networks, which were fully digital. The term "1G" itself was not used at the time, but has since been retroactively applied to describe the early era of cellular networks.
Mobile radio telephone systems were mobile telephony systems that preceded modern cellular network technology. Since they were the predecessors of the first generation of cellular telephones, these systems are sometimes retroactively referred to as pre-cellular systems. Technologies used in pre-cellular systems included the Push-to-talk, Mobile Telephone Service (MTS), Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS), and Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMTS) systems. These early mobile telephone systems can be distinguished from earlier closed radiotelephone systems in that they were available as a commercial service that was part of the public switched telephone network, with their own telephone numbers, rather than part of a closed network such as a police radio or taxi dispatching system.
The history of mobile phones covers mobile communication devices that connect wirelessly to the public switched telephone network.
The DynaTAC is a series of cellular telephones manufactured by Motorola from 1983 to 1994. The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X received approval from the U.S. FCC on September 21, 1983. A full charge took roughly 10 hours, and it offered 30 minutes of talk time. It also offered an LED display for dialing or recall of one of 30 phone numbers. It was priced at US$3,995 in 1984, its commercial release year, equivalent to $11,716 in 2023. DynaTAC was an abbreviation of "Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage".
The Motorola International 3200 was the first digital hand-held mobile telephone introduced in 1992, along with the more compact 5200, 5080, 7200 and 7500 "flip phones" introduced in 1994. It was preceded by the International 1000 and 2000 GSM phones, quite big, and although being the first GSM portable phones, they were not GSM certified, therefore couldn't be officially connected to the network.
A mobile phone operator, wireless provider, or carrier is a mobile telecommunications company that provides wireless Internet GSM services for mobile device users. The operator gives a SIM card to the customer who inserts it into the mobile device to gain access to the service.
The StarTAC is a series of mobile phones released by Motorola starting in 1996. It is the successor of the MicroTAC, a semi-clamshell design first launched in 1989. Whereas the MicroTAC's flip folded down from below the keypad, the StarTAC folded up from above the display. The StarTAC was among the first mobile phones to gain widespread consumer adoption; approximately 60 million StarTACs were sold.
CT2 is a cordless telephony standard that was used in the early 1990s to provide short-range proto-mobile phone service in some countries in Europe and in Hong Kong. It is considered the precursor to the more successful DECT system. CT2 was also referred to by its marketing name, Telepoint.
The Radio Telephone Network C, was a first generation analog cellular phone system deployed and operated in Germany by DeTeMobil. It utilized the C-450 standard, originally developed by Siemens AG, and was the third and last update of a series of analog mobile phone systems used primarily within Germany, superseding the B-Netz and the A-Netz before it. It has been decommissioned, replaced by both the newer D-Netz and E-Netz systems, both based on GSM standards and operating on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands respectively.
Cellular frequencies are the sets of frequency ranges within the ultra high frequency band that have been assigned for cellular-compatible mobile devices, such as mobile phones, to connect to cellular networks. Most mobile networks worldwide use portions of the radio frequency spectrum, allocated to the mobile service, for the transmission and reception of their signals. The particular bands may also be shared with other radiocommunication services, e.g. broadcasting service, and fixed service operation.
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